[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for November 4 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for Proper 26 



Mark 12:28-34 - "What to Say When You Roll Out of Bed"
Mark 12:28-34 - "The Messiah's Mark” by Leonard Sweet
 
Mark 12, the sermon title “What to Say When You Roll Out of Bed” 
 
A few years ago, a radio station ran a contest. Disc jockeys invited their listeners to tune in their clock radios. "Just for fun," they said, "when you wake up to the sound of FM-106, call and tell us the first words you spoke when you rolled out of bed. If you're the third caller, you'll win $106."
 
It didn't take long for the contest to grow in enthusiasm. The first morning, a buoyant disc jockey said, "Caller number three, what did you say when you rolled out of bed this morning?" A groggy voice said, "Do I smell coffee burning?" Another day, a sleepy clerical worker said, "Oh no, I'm late for work." Somebody else said her first words were, "Honey, did I put out the dog last night?" A muffled curse was immediately heard in the background, and then a man was heard to say, "No, you didn't." It was a funny contest and drew a considerable audience.
 
One morning, however, the third caller said something unusual. The station phone rang. "Good morning, this is FM-106. You're on the air. What did you say when you rolled out of bed this morning?"
 
A voice with a Bronx accent replied, "You want to know my first words in the morning?"
 
The bubbly DJ said, "Yes, sir! Tell us what you said."
 
The Bronx voice responded, "Shema, Israel ... Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." There was a moment of embarrassed silence. Then the radio announcer said, "Sorry, wrong number," and cut to a commercial.
 
Try to remember. What did you say when you rolled out of bed today? Chances are, those words set the tone for the rest of the day…
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 
_______________________
 
Mark 12, for the sermon titled “The Messiah’s Mark” by Leonard Sweet   
 
New parents are always so eager and anxious for their babies to learn to talk. We cajole and coo and coax them to get out those first precious words. But eventually parental prayers are answered, and the child speaks. 
 
Next thing they know, however, Mom and Dad are being grilled by junior or missy who have discovered the all important “Why?” question. 
 
There are the science questions — “Why is the sky blue?” “Why does the wind blow?” “Why is water wet?” “Where exactly in our bodies are we located?”
 
There are the personal questions — “Why do I have to go to bed?” “Why do I have to eat my vegetables?” “Why do I have to wear a coat?” 
 
There are relational questions — “Why are you crying?” “Why did Grandpa die?” Why do I have to be nice to that funny smelling person?” 
 
Even when a long litany of “Why?” questions get tedious, good parents know they need to keep answering. Children learn from asking question. But it isn’t so much the answer to their inquiry that they are learning. What our children are really learning with these first “Why?” questions is to turn to the ones who love them the most, who care for them as family, for an expansion of knowledge and an expression of love. Questions keep parent and child engaged in an on-going, living, growing relationship…
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 
_______________________
 
Full Devotion to God
 
In the days of the circuit riders a minister was out riding one afternoon and came upon a man out working in his field.
 
"Fine day isn't it?" the minister called out.
 
"Its fine for you", the man replied, "All you have to do is ride around on that horse thinking about God all day long, while I have to sweat here in this field and then walk home afterward. I don't think it is right you should have things so easy while I have to work so hard."
 
"On the contrary", the minister answered, "thinking about God is one of the most difficult things you can do. And to prove it, I'll give you this horse if you can think about God and nothing else for one minute."
 
"You're on,” said the man and immediately he sat down in silence. Thirty seconds later he looked up at the minister, and said, "Does that include the saddle?"
 
Richard Fairchild, Not Far from the Kingdom of God.
 
__________________
 
Watching Out for Us
 
Jesus wants us to love God and others with our soul. The soul is that part of us that denies logic. It is a mystery. Loving with our souls goes beyond what people would consider as normal. We give forth our love because we want to and it probably makes no sense to outsiders.

During the course of earning her master's degree, a woman found it necessary to commute several times a week from Victory, Vermont to the state university in Burlington, a good hundred miles away. Coming home late at night, she would see an old man sitting by the side of her road. He was always there, in sub zero temperatures, in stormy weather, no matter how late she returned. He made no acknowledgment of her passing. The snow settled on his cap and shoulders as if he were merely another gnarled old tree. She often wondered what brought him to that same spot every evening. Perhaps it was a stubborn habit, private grief or a mental disorder.

Finally, she asked a neighbor of hers, "Have you ever seen an old man who sits by the road late at night?" "Oh, yes," said her neighbor, "many times." "Is he a little touched upstairs? Does he ever go home?" The neighbor laughed and said, "He's no more touched than you or me. And he goes home right after you do. You see, he doesn't like the idea of you driving by yourself out late all alone on these back roads, so every night he walks out to wait for you. When he sees your taillights disappear around the bend, and he knows you're okay, he goes home to bed." 

Keith Wagner, Almost Heaven, adapted from Garret Keizer, Watchers in the Night
_______________________________________

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20121030/aa9ec97c/attachment.htm>